statutory interpretation

Question 1

need for it:

Answer 1

when there is confusion over the wording of an act
court will decide the meaning of a particular word where it is unclear in the original act

Question 2

a broad term

Answer 2

where words are designed to cover several possibilities
dangerous dogs act 1991 - ‘any dog of the type known as the pitbull terrier’

Question 3

a broad term
case

Answer 3

brock v DPP 1983 - eventually decided that it had a wider meaning than just breed and included dogs that had similar characteristics to a pit bull (part breeds)

Question 4

ambiguity

Answer 4

word has 2 or more meanings
fisher v bell 1961

Question 5

drafting error

Answer 5

if the bill has been amended several times whilst going through parliament a mistake may have occured
r v burstow 1997 - inflict in s20 OAPA meant cause

Question 6

new development/technology

Answer 6

new technology might mean that an old act doesn’t cover present situations
royal college of nursing v DHSS 1981 - medical advancements since abortion act 1967

Question 7

rules

Answer 7

literal
purposive

Question 8

literal rule

Answer 8

judge looks at the literal meaning of the act and sticks to it - even if the outcome is absurd

Question 9

purposive

Answer 9

judges look at the wider meaning and tries to work out what parliament meant by creating the act (EU uses this approach)

Question 10

literal rule
Whitley v Chappell 1968

Answer 10

an offence to impersonate anyone entitled to vote
took the place of someone who was dead and under the literal rule he wasn’t found guilty of the offence because you can’t impersonate someone who is dead and still vote
made the law absurd because he was clearly guilty

Question 11

literal rule
berriman 1946

Answer 11

railway worker was killed while oiling points on the track
widow tried to claim compensation but couldn’t because it was found that he was maintaining the track and not relaying or repairing it
only compensation if he was relaying or repairing
harsh decision under the literal rule

Question 12

literal rule
advantages

Answer 12

law certain and easier to understand
follows what parliament intended
judges apply it exactly how its written so it prevents unelected judges from making law

Question 13

literal rule
disadvantages

Answer 13

assumes every act of parliament will be perfectly drafted so that it covers every situation
words may have one or more meanings so act may become unclear
following the exact meaning can lead to unfair decisions

Question 14

the golden rule

Answer 14

modification of the literal rule
looks at the literal meaning and then allows for interpretation to avoid an absurd/unfair result

Question 15

the golden rule
narrow approach

Answer 15

judge decides between 2 possible meanings

Question 16

the golden rule
wider approach

Answer 16

allows judges to interpret, avoiding unfair meaning

Question 17

the golden rule
adler v george 1964

Answer 17

official secrets act 1920 makes it an offence to obstruct HM armed forces in the vincinity of a prohibited place
d had obstructed armed forces in the prohibited place itself and there held that they weren’t guilty on that techicality
court held that using the golden rule, they were guilty as the act could be interpreted to include ‘in or near’ the place

Question 18

the golden rule
sigsworth 1935

Answer 18

son had murdered his mother
mother hadn’t made a will and normally the son would inherit as next of kin
court applied the golden rule in the broadest sense and held that he could not inherit from the mother he had murdered as it was not in the nature of the law

Question 19

the golden rule
advantages

Answer 19

resepcts the exact words of parliament, except in limited situations
where there is a problem with the literal rule, the golden rule provides an ‘escape route’
allows the judge to choose a sensible meaning
allows the judge to come to a sensible decision

Question 20

the golden rule
disadvantages

Answer 20

limited in its use
makes the law unpredictable

Question 21

the mischief rule

Answer 21

gives judges more discretion and arguably more power
comes from Heydon’s case 1585:
the law should look at:
- old case law
- what the law was before the act was passed so that it can be discovered what defect or ‘mischief’ was meant to be covered
- how parliament intended on remedying the mischief
- court should then interpret the act in such way that the gap is covered

Question 22

the mischief rule
smith v Hughes 1960

Answer 22

street offences act 1959 - it shall be an offence for a common prostitute to loiter or solicit in public places for the purposes of prostitution
6 women pleaded not guilty - were in windows and on balconies instead of on the streets
using the mischief rule the judge held them to be guilty as the act was designed to ‘clean up the streets’

Question 23

the mischief rule
royal college of nursing v DHSS 1981

Answer 23

abortion act 1967 - the procedure of carrying out an abortion has to be carried out by a doctor
by 1972 advancements in medicine meant that most of the procedure could be carried out by a nurse
judges decided it wasn’t illegal as the mischief rule was to stop unlicensed abortions and it didn’t matter if a doctor or nurse in a registered premises carried out the procedure

Question 24

the mischief rule
advantages

Answer 24

promotes the purpose of the law
emphasis is that the gap in the law is filled so that it produces a just result
judges interpret the law in the way parliament meant it to work - the law commission prefers to use the mischief rule
allows judges to take into account the changes in society
RCN v DHSS - also saves time as it prevents parliament having to make constant amendments to the law

Question 25

the mischief rule
disadvantages

Answer 25

risk that judges try and fill the gaps with their own ideas/impose their own morality
unelected judges making law
can lead to uncertainty
more limited than the purposive approach and is therefore perhaps outdated
sometimes difficult to actually work out what the mischief rule is

Question 26

the purposive approach

Answer 26

goes beyond the mischief rule - judges don’t just look for the gap, they look at what parliament meant to achieve generally

Question 27

the purposive approach
r v registrar general ex parte smith 1990

Answer 27

s51 adoption act 1976 - the registrar must allows someone who has been adopted and reached the age of 18 to access their birth certificate
D had correctly applied however he’d been convicted on 2 murders and the doctors thought he might harm his mother if he found her
under purposive rule judges decided that parliament would never want to promote a potential crime and therefore the D wasn’t given the information

Question 28

the purposive approach
advantages

Answer 28

leads to justice in individual cases
broad approach which allows the law to cover more situations than applying words literally
useful where there is new technology/advancements - allows judges to interpret parliaments wishes in line with changes, stopping the need for parliament to create another new act
allows judges to use discretion

Question 29

the purposive approach
disadvantages

Answer 29

judges don’t follow the clear words of parliament
how do judges really know what parliaments intentions are
allows unelected judges to make law
leads to uncertainty because lawyers can never be exactly sure on the judges ruling